Background The national population of the brown bear in Austria was estimated at between 25 and 30 animals in the Alps mountain range at the start of this project. Worryingly, this number was stagnating despite evidence of continued procreation amongst the bears. Reports were made almost every year of sightings of mother bears with cubs in the bears’ heartland: the Lower Austrian and Styrian limestone Alps between Ötscher and Hochschwab, and southern Carinthia around Weißensee and the Karawanken. The population stagnation was identified as being due to the fate of adolescent bears, many of which were disappearing without trace as soon as they set off in search of their own territory. However, the reasons for their disappearance were shrouded in mystery, particularly since all studies on the suitability of the eastern Austrian Alps as a habitat for bears indicated that their potential range was far greater than the area they were inhabiting. Objectives This LIFE-Nature project aimed above all else to reveal the reasons for the stagnation of the brown bear population in Austria. The monitoring of the bear population, which had started several years previously, was to be extended geographically and intensified using genetic tracing techniques. The examination of possible migration corridors and barriers - such as roads - in the Austrian Alps would also be explored. The possible genetic exchange between Alpine and Dinaric populations of brown bears would be examined. This is crucial since the the Austrian bear population was so small that the risks of in-breeding were high and its long-term survival depended on the migration of other bears from the Dinaric Alps. With this in mind, the project also intended to step up cross-border cooperation with Italy and, in particular, Slovenia. The information gained from the various monitoring activities was intended to inform a revision of the management plan for the bear that had been developed during an earlier LIFE-Nature project (LIFE95 NAT/A/000399). The initial implementation of this package of measures was expected to take place before the end of the project, in cooperation with the competent highway authorities and the Austrian Federal Forestry Service. Results The results of the monitoring confirmed that the Austrian bear population, despite 27 or 28 births within the previous 12 years, was stagnating. The possible reasons that it identified were the emigration of young bears, unknown causes of high mortality amongst adolescent bears and poaching. The project revealed the important migratory routes of the bears, but was not able to uncover the main cause of the population stagnation. It remained possible that all three factors were having an impact and more research would be needed to discover exactly what is happening to the disappearing bears. Based on the monitoring results, the project succeeded in up-dating the bear management plan. This provides guidelines for future measures by the competent provincial authorities aiming at the conservation of the brown bear population in Austria. The final version of the Management Plan was officially accepted as a guideline for action by the States of Upper and Lower Austria, Carinthia and Styria. The project team was able to present its information on the bear migration routes to the Austrian state corporation for financing roads and highways (ASFINAG). This body agreed to integrated these corridors into its strategic planning. The identified corridors respect not only monitoring data concerning bear, lynx, wolf, red deer and elk, but also the NATURA 2000 areas, as important stepping stones on migration routes of the named species. The beneficiary also helped to elaborate the national Regulation for Traffic Safety – Game Protection, which put into law some of the traffic measures necessary to protect the bear. The project was not able to realise a Memorandum of Understanding in terms of bear management between Austrian and Slovenian environmental authorities. However, the base for future cooperation with Slovenian partners was established and this will be crucial to efforts for the continued survival of the bear. Work with the public remains a crucial factor for the future of the bear and the project carried out a number of activities with schools and created a video about the bear. It carried out hundreds of interviews to monitor people’s changing attitudes towards brown bears to inform future awareness-raising activities.